Prospectus

welcome We are an 11-16, co-educational, comprehensive school which has achieved Specialist Status in Science, and is now in its second phase of specialism.

Our aim is to help parents prepare their children for adult lives in a rapidly changing world. To achieve this we provide a broad and stimulating curriculum, set the highest standards of work and behaviour and encourage students to reach out for these standards with confidence.

Our school is a community where people pride themselves on having respect for each other. We

Ashton Community Science College

share responsibility for creating a safe and pleasant place to work, where enjoying and achieving is at the centre of what we do. We aim to provide effective and stimulating learning in a caring and disciplined environment. We are an inclusive school and very proud of our efforts to educate and care for all our students, whatever their abilities.

We are determined to build upon our strong local reputation and ensure we really are “a school to be proud of�

C. Lickiss Headteacher

specialist status Science Colleges use their specialist status to create a challenging environment which raises standards of achievement and the quality of teaching and learning across the curriculum for all their students leading to whole school improvement in performance.

Ashton Community Science College

As a Science College we are an active contributor to local and national developments and encourage young people to pursue science and mathematics beyond 16 so that they develop the skills needed to be active citizens within an increasingly scientific world.

At Ashton Community Science College we are constantly striving to raise standards to ensure that every student has the opportunity to participate in many different experiences and to develop skills, talents and stature in a wide range of activities. As one of the obvious focal points in the community, we also feel that it is part of our purpose to stimulate local pride by our achievements, aspirations and example, so that the School, and those who live in the area, will share a pride and a self-esteem which

will enhance the quality of life and reputation of Ashton Community Science College and its members.

Our specialist status has enabled us to provide state of the art facilities to be used not only by our students, but by the community. Our “Living Laboratory� is a statement of our commitment to the maintenance of the environment as much of the time it is totally self sufficient, with electricity being provided by a 15Kw wind turbine and heating being provided by Ground Source Heat Pump Technology. Our unique facilities have enabled us to improve links with the local community in a number of ways. We have developed close ties with our family of partner primary schools who regularly use our facilities with their year 5 and 6 students.

We offer a range of community activities that have proved popular and are growing in number. We have also established collaborative working with other local High schools and the local colleges of FE. Our Specialist Status has also enabled us to develop a thriving Eco-Schools group at Ashton who have already achieved the Eco-Schools Bronze Award and who have plans for further national recognition in the near future. The group play a key role in developing areas of the school grounds to enhance the environment for both our students and visitors to the school.

Through one of our sponsors, the Entertainment Software Charity, we have been twinned with a school in Sri Lanka and are working with them through the charity Hope4children.

learning inspiring minds If lessons are stimulating and engaging, then students will love learning; not an easy challenge but certainly one we believe we are up to. We spend many hours planning and reviewing schemes of work to ensure they are well differentiated and meet the needs of all. Lessons are structured to enable all students to access the curriculum and to develop as independent learners.

We constantly review our curriculum to make sure it offers the best choices for all. Some of our students take 5 GCSEs and receive a lot of additional support whilst others take 10, 11 or 12 subjects and, of course, we have a variety of pathways in between.

Ashton Community Science College

We set all students challenging targets and report on their progress each term. In addition, each year group has an annual parents’ evening. During these, parents and students meet their tutors, discuss their progress and set targets for the year ahead.

All this, combined with regular homework, helps us to support all our students in adding value to the progress they have already made. It is one of the reasons why we are the highest achieving school in the local excellence cluster. We are very proud of this but prouder still that our young people leave us as successful, well balanced individuals, ready to face the challenges of the 21st Century.

As a Science College, we celebrate success in the sciences and all students study Science, either as Additional Science, Triple Award or Applied. We believe this helps stimulate other areas of the curriculum and allows other faculties to explore the impact that Science has on their subjects.

We encourage both curricular and extra-curricular innovations, and we have high aspirations for all.

These are undoubtedly factors in our retention of highly talented and motivated staff.

Everyone in our community can make a positive contribution which is why we believe we are a fully inclusive school.

Regular lively debates take place at School Forum meetings; its members bring a variety of issues to the forum.

These ideas are often progressive and sometimes radical and we value these meetings as a very important part of school life.

We are a school that listens and we believe that people feel valued if they have a voice and can make a difference. Above all, our students are encouraged to become independent learners and thinkers. That’s why, when they have something to say, it’s generally worth listening to. For instance, our students enjoy reaping the benefits of the school reward system because they helped to shape it!

We receive students from many different backgrounds and cultures: we have students who are deaf or hearing impaired, students with speech and language delay and students with a variety of other physical, emotional and learning needs. There is one common factor which unites them all: they are all Ashton Community Science College students and we want the very best for all of them. Here everyone is valued equally.

One unique feature of our school is the on site SERF (Special Education Resource Facility) which supports our deaf students. Deaf students are placed in main school tutor groups alongside their hearing peers. They are taught by the school’s subject teachers, working in mainstream classes, for the majority of the time.

Specialist Teachers of the deaf and support staff provide support, working alongside teaching staff, to ensure that the needs of Deaf students are taken into account. Most of the students communicate using Sign Language and so signed communication support is provided. The school strives to promote Deaf Awareness within the school community as a whole and Deaf Awareness is included in the PSHE programme for all students. The school also runs Deaf Awareness and Sign Language courses at intervals throughout the year.

Ashton Community Science College

inclusion valuing each individual learner Though the Deaf students work in the main classes for most of the time, some lessons take place in the SERF itself. The Centre is located on the first floor; it is a specially adapted suite which provides the most appropriate acoustic environment. More detailed information, relevant for families with Deaf students is available from the Head of the Deaf Support Department.

A further strength of our school is the range of support we are able to offer to students of all abilities.

Compass, our behaviour support centre, works successfully with students who need a little extra support in managing their behaviour or emotional difficulties.

The staff at Compass develop excellent relationships with parents, carers and other professional agencies to develop a system of ‘wraparound support’ for our students who need it most.

Our Learning Support team offer additional support to students with learning needs across the widest spectrum.

They work hard to build relationships with students and help each child achieve their full potential.

Our Gifted, Able and Talented programme continues to go from strength to strength, with all subject areas offering extension activities in addition to the established enrichment programme.

Inclusion isn’t just about the students though. We want parents and carers to feel that they are part of Ashton Community Science College by signing the Parental Agreement and by checking the student planner regularly. The planner is a very important document; it is our first means of communication with you and is used to record homework and other important information. In addition, we welcome any thoughts about how we can make the homeschool link stronger.

We are fortunate to have an extremely committed and helpful group of governors who work closely with the school, supporting us but also asking us those questions which keep us on our toes.

participation talent and leadership We want our students to become lifelong learners and successful members of the community but we know this will not happen overnight. There are a number of themes that we revisit throughout the academic year which help students along this path. From the start of Year 7, we work with students to make them aware of all the possibilities that lie ahead of them. This is part of a PSHE programme which supports students throughout their time at Ashton Community Science College.

As students progress, we help them select options in Year 8 and Year 9. We work closely with the Connexions service who provide further guidance and we have a range of alternative pathways to stimulate and engage all our learners.

Ashton Community Science College

In Year 10 students experience the world of work when they complete two weeks work experience.

This insight into life beyond school often helps students identify where they are heading. Work related learning and enterprise are two more themes which are woven into the curriculum. These allow students to make connections with the world outside and link up their learning.

Citizenship is another theme which runs through the curriculum and beyond. We offer students opportunities which help them become thoughtful, helpful and proactive members of the school and wider community.

By the time they leave Ashton Community Science College, we know we have prepared our students for all the challenges they will face as citizens of the future.

Extra curricular activities We are especially proud of our SCAMPs programme which encompasses the numerous extra curricular activities we offer. Many of these arise naturally out of the normal curriculum but flourish mainly thanks to the enthusiasm of the Staff and their willingness to give generously of their time. We offer over 40 different activities each week within SCAMPs, ranging from classroom based activities for example, Homework and Chess Clubs, through to outdoor activities such as Duke of Edinburgh.

Most obvious are the many School teams that consistently achieve so much for the School in the full range of sports and games and whose successes are well known.

Our highly successful Music Society is very active and performances in School and elsewhere within the Community have been widely acclaimed and greatly enjoyed. A full range of instrumental tuition is provided and we have a greatly admired concert band, stage band, recorder groups and choir whose work and performances are aided and enhanced by the County’s team of peripatetic teachers who support work in the Music Department.

At Ashton Community Science College we aim to build on our strengths; we have tried hard to devise a curriculum that suits the needs of all students across the two key stages and that meets the challenges of the 21st Century. We strive to ensure that all students are offered appropriate courses at the appropriate level for them. We aim to make our students more involved in their own development and strive for independence in their learning. We want them to be questioning, challenging and confident individuals; we want them to be happy, safe, contented people eager to experience life in the wider world.

Our Science College status is the driving force behind the changes facing our community in the future. To realise our aims we intend to continue to review the curriculum on offer at both key stages to ensure provision for the most to the least able and the less engaged; to further celebrate and develop good practice in teaching and learning in the classroom and to provide training and development opportunities to our staff to enable them to best serve our students.

growing nurturing the individual The nurturing of each individual student is the concern of all our staff but it is principally the Form Tutors who attend to this with the help of the Student Progress Leaders and the Pastoral Support Team.

Ashton Community Science College

Both the Student Progress Leaders and the Pastoral Support Team work under the Student Services Leader in ensuring that every aspect of each student’s development is properly catered for.

If students are to progress and achieve in their studies, they need to feel happy and secure in school and we must all, parents and staff alike,

join together to make sure that this is the case.

A successful school is one where children are respected and taught well.

Our first priority is your child’s welfare, and there may be occasions when our concerns about your child means that we have to contact other agencies. The procedures which we follow have been laid down by the Lancashire Child Protection Committee and are in line with Government Circulars.

Ashton is proud of the good attendance record achieved by students, and we regard this as the basis for success in all aspects of school life; we value the support given by parents in ensuring the children attend regularly and on time.

The School Nurse visits Ashton regularly and runs Drop-In Clinics for students at a weekly lunchtime session to discuss, in confidence, any problems concerning physical and emotional developments of your child.

From their first day at school students are encouraged to accept responsibility. When they reach Year 11, all students are given the opportunity to become Student Leaders with various responsibilities e.g. giving help, mentoring and assistance to new students, helping at school events and many other young leadership roles within the school.

a true community school As a Community school we offer a wide range of activities, programmes and out of hours activities which help to ensure that there are opportunities to acquire knowledge, skills and understanding in preparation for adult life and to develop confidence, motivation and a thirst for life long learning.

The school’s extension programme-SCAMPs, provides a programme for all students to be involved in activities both before and after school. Whether it is studying for further qualifications, rehearsing for a school production, practicing their sporting skills or just attending clubs for pleasure, we believe we offer something for all to be involved in.

In collaboration with Lancashire College, a wide range

of community education courses are on offer, from examination classes to more general interest classes.

Our sporting facilities are available each evening through our dual use agreement with Preston City Council.

We work closely with local schools, in particular our family of partner primary schools, so that smooth transition is achieved.

We also work with the local colleges of Further Education, and have a programme of events linked with University of Central Lancashire to encourage greater future participation in Higher Education. Close links have been forged with local business and training providers resulting in increased opportunities for our young people as they progress beyond year 11.

All enquiries regarding our Community links should be addressed to our school’s designated Community Development Officer.

Ashton Community Science College